Continue reading “Wrangling on Nootka Island with the Island Mountain Ramblers”
Maquilla Peak washed down with Mount Alston
–submitted by Matthew Lettington
In order to make the most of our time on the mountain, I organized a trip to the north island that included visits to two mountains. Both mountains are worth visiting individually, but by combining them into one day trip, we were able to save some money on fuel.
Friday evening Jes and Matthew camped out at the Forest Rec site at Klaklakama Lake. Predawn came even worse than it sounded after a poor night’s sleep (I think too much coffee). It was a short drive to the end of Chuckham Road, and we were hiking to Maquilla by 6:15 am. We parked to 800m, so there was a little more than 1000m to the summit.
We ventured off the road and up a ridge to an adjoining route that gains the peak via the south ridge. We moved quickly through the light to moderate bush. There was no boot track to guide us but we had great beta provided by another club member – thanks, Eyrn!
Continue reading “Maquilla Peak washed down with Mount Alston”
Nootka Island Trail Maintenance Trip
–SUBMITTED BY MICHAEL PASKEVICIUS; ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON HIS BLOG
[The below report is for the club trip done in June 2023]
The Nootka trail is a remote and rugged 40km through hike on Nootka Island. We accessed the trail via water taxi from Tahsis, starting from Yuqout with a pickup at Tongue Point. The trail passes through the Mowachaht/Muchalat First Nations territory. We planned a south to north hike with intention to conduct trail maintenance along the way. We brought clippers for clearing the trail, ropes for helping with steep sections, and planned to mark headland trails as well with buoys that could be found on the beach.
Day One: Travel to Nootka
After a long drive from Victoria with a pick up in South Nanaimo we arrived in Tahsis in the early afternoon. We learned a small plane had crashed in the area just the day before, so there was a fair bit of activity in town with first responders, reporters, and fire crews dealing with the incident. We were still able to board our water taxi and travel to Yuquot to begin the Nootka Trail from the south end. It was a short walk to our first camp where we spent the first night.
A Flower Feast on the East Sooke Trail
Mount Richards
–submitted by Mary Hof
Well it was to be the Sooke Hills with 10 people plus 3 others from Cowichan. The day of the hike it was Mt. Richards with 2 Ramblers and 3 other friends. I don’t blame anyone for canceling in the wet forecasted weather report for sure, I myself do not like hiking in rain. I must say 50 emails later of either people canceling or adding their name is a bit of a comedy. I changed it to Mt. Richards as Duncan was mid way between Victoria and Nanaimo. I want to thank Danial for braving the weather and coming out from Nanaimo. As it turned out we got no rain, and we had a wonderful hike. I did a different route from what Danial did before and he was very pleased.
Mary Hof
Wesley Ridge Traverse including Mt Wesley/Mt Horne 
–submitted by Dean Beaulac
📍 Wesley Ridge Traverse Loop
~Mt Wesley
~Mt Horne
~Echo Mtn
Had an awesome day leading my first hike with the Ramblers yesterday. Waking up with it being dark and 2 degrees, I spent way too much time trying to dress myself haha. An equal mix of being ready for the cold start, and the hot day I knew would show up once we started. I’d hoped for a bigger group, but in the end..the 3 joined was perfect. Much easier to surprise only 3 people with cheesecake haha:p
Continue reading “Wesley Ridge Traverse including Mt Wesley/Mt Horne ”
The Newest Ridge Rambler — Jes Garceau
Congratulations to Jes Garceu on completing his tenth Ridge Rambler objective on a club trip and earning your Ridge Rambler Crest.
1- Rogers ridge with Beadnell 2020
Jes Garceau Kyla Prince Trace Garceau Bil Derby Kristy LeDevehat
Forbidden Plateau Traverse
–submitted by Brian Fleming
Forbidden Plateau Traverse (segment from a Lifetime Hiking Objective)
28.5km, 774m elevation gain, 8h23m
We enjoyed a great hike from Mount Washington to the old ski hill in Courtenay, Wood Mountain.
Jes Garceau — Lifetime Climbing Objective — Bronze
Climbing
Congratulations to Jes Garceau on achieving his bronze level in the club’s Lifetime Climbing Objectives. On Saturday, September 25th, he and Jenn Joyce successfully summit Victoria Peak, marking Jes’ tenth on the list. Way to go, Jes! We can’t wait to see what you summit next.
Continue reading “Jes Garceau — Lifetime Climbing Objective — Bronze”
Mount Arrowsmith The Nose and Bumps
—submitted by Greg Deabler
In spite of an excellent forecast, we were once again reminded of the vagaries of mountain weather (August 18, 2022). The gate at the Cameron Connector was opened at 8:00 am and we were heading up the trail toward the Arrowsmith Cokely saddle by 8:45. The morning fog/cloud persisted, and finally settled in to a dense layer with little visibility by the time we gained the bumps. There was still enough snow on the steeps to the first bump to warrant our ice-axes, but once the top was attained, we put away the axes and proceeded in close to zero visibility to the base of the Nose. We got a bit off route on the forth bump, and instead of bypassing the bump summit on the right we ended up on top of the bump. We couldn’t see the Nose nor col in the grey void, and even though we were within meters of our gpx track, everything looked different with no background landmarks to orient to.
We backed up on our route until we were able to correct our direction. On the col, we stopped to put on harnesses and made the decision to drag the rope up both pitches since it was a first ascent for Graham and Geoff and would give them the option to follow using the rope. Although the first pitch is 4th class, there are a couple of exposed moves near the top of the pitch. It is a nice clean route with solid holds and we arrived at the end of the technical section in one piece and enjoyed a quiet summit, though we weren’t the first for the day on the summit. A mature marmot was enjoying the day on the far side of the helicopter pad! A few pics, a bit of lunch and we headed back to the top of the nose to rapel down.
We had just finished our rapels when the heavy cloud cover let loose with a fine rain which lasted across the bumps and most of the way down the saddle trail. A fine day in spite of a lack of views made better by the fine company. Thanks to Geoff and Graham for driving up from Victoria and joining me for this timeless classic!